Selma and Michael Jultak opened in 1948, after moving to Denver as newlyweds and quickly became the florist of choice for the city’s Who’s Who.
“They set the trends,” says Paula Newberry Arnold, co-owner of . “They were leaders in the floral industry and mentors. But more importantly they were our friends.”
“Selma was one terrific lady,” said Bebe Levy, whose 1981 wedding to Marvin Levy took place at the Jultak home. “She was my aunt, but she was more like a second mother. She was a kind and generous person, always with a smile on her face. Even toward the end, the first question she’d ask a visitor was ‘how are you?’ ”
Selma Jultak died Nov. 15 at age 89. Graveside services were Nov. 18 at .
Born April 24, 1925, on New York City’s Lower East Side, Selma Jultak met her husband when she was 14 and he was 15, while he was selling flowers at subway stations and in Times Square.
They were married Oct. 7, 1944, and moved to Denver shortly thereafter.
Michael Jultak died in 1980, and Selma continued to run the shop on East Colfax Avenue until declining health caused her to pass the baton to their son, Steven “Skip” Jultak, who now runs the business with his wife, Debbie.
“My fondest memory is of how loving, caring and kind she was,” Skip Jultak said. “Our home was always filled with family, friends, fun and laughter.”
His parents, Skip said, “Not only adopted my sister, Johanna, and I, they also were foster parents to many children. The two I remember best are Carlos and Rafael, who were Cuban refugees. We learned Spanish, they learned English, and we had great fun.”
Andy Levy recalls how the Jultaks raised the bar on floral design in Denver by having flowers flown in from Hawaii for the 1954 wedding of his parents, the late Irwin and Jean Alexander Levy.
It was a move that was “ahead of its time,” Levy said. “And for several years after the wedding, the Jultaks sent my grandmother a floral arrangement on my parents’ anniversary to thank her for helping them prove the potential for what could be done in Denver.”
In addition to her work as a florist — clients included Barbara and the late Marvin Davis — Selma Jultak was an actress who appeared in productions at the Bonfils Theatre and did decor for such high-profile events as the Carousel Ball and the Race to Erase MS.
“She loved being at the shop, answering the phone, writing messages on the cards in her beautiful calligraphy, and greeting and conversing with the customers,” Skip Jultak said. “Selma and Mike did flowers for most of the weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, new babies, anniversaries and funerals. She knew everything that was going on in the community.”
In addition to her children, Selma Jultak is survived by grandsons Michael, Mark and Matthew. The family suggests memorial contributions to the , 4380 S. Syracuse St., Suite 430, Denver, CO 80237.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
